Experience

Issue:

Employees often know little about product liability and the role they have in the company’s overall risk profile. The acts or omissions of even one employee can have severe financial and operational consequences for companies.

Challenge:

How does a company keep both new and long-time employees up-to-date on product liability issues and make sure they understand that litigation prevention, risk management, regulatory compliance and proper incident response are everyone’s responsibility?

Solution:

Perkins Coie developed product liability seminars and interactive workshops that help employees spot, prevent and respond to product liability issues.

The workshops feature simulations based on actual cases and require participants to decide, as the facts and events unfold, what steps the company and its employees should take to ensure product safety and protect against liability. Employees are shown how their words and actions affect the company’s product liability exposure. Topics include:

  • Principles of liability
  • Discovery
  • Warnings and instructions
  • Privileged documents
  • Document retention
  • Depositions
  • Product liability overseas
  • Product claim substantiation
  • Product advertising risks

Workshops are conducted for clients throughout the country in industries as varied as aerospace, building products, military equipment, pharmaceutical and medical devices, recreational equipment, tech consumer products, and food and nutritional supplements. Our clients say they find tremendous value in the training their employees receive and, as one client noted, “The case study approach is outstanding! One of the best classes I’ve ever attended.”